The Look on Your Face Said It All
by Emtheunicorn
Summary: A series of Jackitt moments starting from after the first movie and going through to beyond the second movie. Jack/Merritt.
1. Henley Leaves

AN: At this stage this is just a series of 5 ficlets, but I might write some more later.

Usual disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters etc etc

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It started when Henley left. She had been fighting with Danny again – something about his incessant attempts to control her. She left, telling the others she needed some space for a few days. When she returned five days later, Jack knew something was different. She carried an air of decisiveness with her and lightness in her step. Merritt figured it out first, enveloping her in a bear hug with the promise that they'd miss her. Danny left her with an awkward wave and a step backwards, his face unreadable. Jack watched on as everything cracked before him.

"Don't blame yourself," Henley had said as she'd hugged Jack goodbye.

Henley left with her suitcase and a promise from the remaining Horsemen that they would keep the magic alive. When she stepped out the door, she took a piece of their family with her.

Danny retreated into his room, a muffled crash ensuing from behind the closed door.

"You know, just because Mommy and Daddy don't love each other anymore, doesn't mean they love you any less," Merritt said as he sat down next to Jack, back against the wall and legs stretched straight out in front on the ground.

Danny emerged minutes later, keys in one hand and an overnight bag in the other. He didn't say a word.

"Is this how it's going to be?" Jack asked Merritt. "Are we all just going to leave one by one until no one's left?"

Merritt placed a large comforting hand on Jack's shoulder.


	2. Hypnotism and Cards

"Show me how to do that," Merritt demanded.

Jack, who sat absentmindedly tossing a pack of cards, glanced up and raised his eyebrows. Merritt mimed throwing cards.

"I'll teach you how to read people's minds," Merritt added as an extra incentive.

"What am I thinking now?" Jack countered, flipping the cards around in his hands.

"You're thinking ' _gee I'm so lucky to have such a handsome and incredibly talented person to teach me everything there is to know about mentalism. I just wish there was something I could do for him in return to thank him for sharing his wealth of expertise with me'_ ," Merritt responded, a cheeky grin forming as he spoke, "Was I close?"

Jack sent a card cutting through the air toward Merritt, a small smile on his lips. The older man scrambled to catch the card and grinned back.

Merritt held the card between his fingers just as he had seen Jack do and attempted to throw it back. The card fluttered pitifully to the ground.

"Here, you've got to be sharper with your movements," Jack said, demonstrating by sending another card shooting straight to Merritt who caught it this time.

Merritt tried again, managing to get the card to fly a few centimetres before it landed at Jack's feet.

"Much better," Jack praised. "Now it's your turn."

"Well, the first step is to capture their complete attention," Merritt said, slowing his words as he spoke and locking Jack in his gaze.

Jack stared back, realising for the first time just how blue Merritt's eyes were. Hypnotic even...

"Merritt, are you trying to hypnotise Jack again?" Danny interrupted as he walked past. Jack snapped out of it, feeling foolish for falling for Merritt's oldest trick.

"Well what better way to learn about hypnotism than by experiencing it first hand?" Merritt argued to the third Horseman's retreating back. He turned back to Jack. "Now, where were we? I believe you were just about to fall completely under my powers and -"

"Nice try," Jack cut in with a short laugh to hide his embarrassment.

Jack threw a card at Merritt in retaliation. Merritt swiped at the card, missed and picked it up off the ground instead. He tried to throw it back to the youngest Horseman, watching it travel mere inches before twirling back to the ground.

"Maybe you should try to hypnotise the card," Jack teased, sending another perfectly thrown card cutting through the air past Merritt's ear.


	3. Merritt's Type

Lula came and they were four again. She took a special interest in Jack. He enjoyed her attention.

Then Dylan joined them and they were five. To Jack, they were one big family again.

Jack found himself standing next to Merritt one day, smiling as he looked on at Lula. First Danny had had Henley and they had driven the other two insane with their bickering and attempts at flirting before becoming the couple of the group, their coupledom a mix of nausea-inducing sweetness and frustration. And then Jack had Lula and found the roles changed – he attempted to keep their couple moments to a minimum in front of the others out of courtesy.

It didn't escape his notice that there was a pattern forming. He mentioned this to Merritt in passing.

"I bet you'll be the next one to find a girl," he said.

Merritt chuckled, glancing down at the younger man like he knew something Jack didn't.

"Maybe," Merritt said, drawing out the 'ay' sound. "Maybe."

Jack wasn't convinced of any enthusiasm on Merritt's part.

"Aw, come on," Jack went on, "think about it: some hot mentalist chick, you can read each other's minds and shit, drive the rest of us crazy. You can be this awesome double act on stage and off..."

Merritt chuckled, like there was some inside joke that Jack wasn't a part of.

"No?" Jack asked, grinning along anyway. "Not your type?"

Merritt laughed again. "Not quite."

"Okay then," Jack countered, "what is?"

Merritt gave him a knowing look like he wasn't going to give anything away. Jack would have to coax it out of him.

"Magician?" Jack asked. Merritt shrugged in a sort of non-committal yes. At least, Jack took it as a yes.

"Blonde? Brunnette? No, no. Redhead," Jack continued, finishing confident with his last choice. Merritt shrugged again, looking like he didn't mind much either way.

Jack fell silent for a minute, trying to picture Merritt's type in his head. The first picture he came up with was Henley – they'd all witnessed Merritt's jovial attempts to seduce her - yet he couldn't shift the thought that that wasn't entirely right. Reading the mentalist was harder than he had first thought. After a moment of thought, he had an idea and decided to go with it.

"Female?" Jack probed hesitantly.

Merritt paused a moment before answering.

"Sometimes."

Merritt turned to look at Jack to gauge his reaction, reading him just as the younger man had been trying to do to him earlier. Jack didn't know why, but he felt a blush rise up over his cheeks, feeling like he had unwillingly stumbled into a moment more intimate than he had intended.


	4. Merritt's Hats

The downside of their occupation was the inevitable swift exit they had to make while being chased by the authorities.

They were leaving the stadium, communicating through their headsets as they executed their carefully thought out exit plan. Jack had been roped into the behind the scenes jobs, once again. Hidden amongst the crowd, he pick-pocketed and slipped things back into pockets to help his friends on stage. He had grumbled about this, wanting to get back in the limelight, but the other horsemen made a point to emphasise just how important his off stage contributions were to their tricks.

Dressed as a tourist, complete with the cheesy 'I heart NY' hat, pulled low down for anonymity, Jack pushed his way through the crowd as he made his way towards the getaway vehicles. He couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face as he passed through the cheering crowd, listening as they cheered for the Horsemen and called to them – he'd definitely heard at least 3 proposals to Danny and there was a particularly vocal lady who, from the sounds of things, was quite eager to have Merritt's children – as if they could hear their fans through the masses of people. If only they knew one of the Horsemen was walking amongst them.

Once he had managed to break free of the crowd, Jack slipped around the side of the building, swiftly dodging past garbage bins and downpipes. As he rounded the corner, he spotted the other Horsemen up ahead, running to where they had a pair of four wheel drives stashed for their getaway.

But they weren't safe yet. Doors banged open, followed by shouts of "there they are", "get them" and "don't let them get away".

Jack pushed his legs to run faster, knowing that every second he saved here was an extra second they would have once they got to the cars. Soon he had caught up to the others, sharing a smile with Lula as they ran.

As they ran across an open courtyard, a gust of wind blew through, catching Merritt's hat and sweeping it off his head.

"My hat," Merritt called, stopping and turning to watch his hat sail back towards the approaching authorities.

"Forget about the hat," Danny grumbled, turning back towards the cars. He wasn't about to get caught and have all their hard work ruined just because Merritt was irrationally attached to a bit of felt.

Knowing how much Merritt cared about his hat collection and how he felt, as he had put it "kind of naked" without a hat, Jack pulled his 'I heart NY' cap off his head and deposited it on Merritt in place of his escaped hat.

"Let's go," Jack encouraged.

This seemed to appease Merritt for the moment. The pair of them took off again, grinning as they ran. Sometimes Jack wondered if the post show getaway was the most exhilarating part of it – the adrenaline, the chase, the small margin for error, switching through their numerous backup plans when obstacles were thrown their way, the way everything fell into place as they made their escape... well most of the time it did.

Once they reached the cars, there was no time to stop. Danny and Lula were climbing into one of the vehicles, ready to head north. Merritt and Jack swiftly jumped in the car facing south, set to draw the authorities away – divide and conquer, Dylan had said.

With Jack behind the wheel, they pulled out into the street, laughing with relief. Jack spied the federal agents reach the spot where the cars had been moments ago and couldn't hold back a snigger. They weren't home safe yet, but they had outsmarted everyone once again and life was good.

Merritt pulled down the visor, examining his new hat in the mirror. He straightened it and pulled it a little further down on his forehead. It wasn't his usual style, but it was the thought that counted. It was a reminder that Jack cared, even if it was just about the little things. In some ways, that was what mattered most.

"You know, this doesn't look half bad on me," Merritt observed.

The pair turned to each other, sharing a grin, before Jack diverted his eyes back to the road.

He never saw Merritt wear the cap again, but he did notice that it had found itself a rather prominent position in his hat collection.


	5. Lula Leaves

AN: Originally this was going to be the last chapter of this fic, but I've decided to continue on with some more ficlets. After this chapter, the next ones won't necessarily be in chronological order or be canon compliant with the first 5 chapters or each other.

Feel free to send me prompts!

* * *

Almost as quickly as Lula came into their lives, she left. The reason she had given was a need for a "new challenge". She had barely been able to stop herself from confessing "boredom". It was strange to think that the Four Horsemen's lives could be considered boring, but it wasn't all glamour and magic tricks. The hard work behind the scenes, between the shows, was what made up the majority of their lives. It could be boring. It was often tiresome and laborious. Jack knew that better than anyone. Then there was the waiting, the seemingly endless days where nothing happened and all you did was wait for a sign from the Eye, day after day. Oh, the waiting was tedious. But once you got out onto the stage and enchanted the crowd with your meticulously planned tricks and watched as they came to realise what had happened only once it had already occurred, amazed by the magic they saw before them, that was what made the hard yards worth it. That was when Jack truly realised that there was nothing else is the world he would rather be doing than standing up there with the three people who had become like family to him, awing the world with their magic.

Then she was gone. Jack had brushed off any concern thrown his way, trying to cope in the only way he knew how: throwing all his time and thoughts into his magic. If the other Horsemen had noticed an increase in cards that had been thrown and ended up stuck in obscure places, they didn't say anything. To an outsider, it would look like a game of _Pick Up 52_ gone wrong. There were cards littering almost every seat in the house – it was near impossible to sit down without a card miraculously ending up in your pocket. There was a card that had landed on top of a lampshade, casting a strange rectangular shadow. There were cards all through the fridge, including one stuck upright in the butter that Henley surely would have had his ass for. There was a rather soggy card in the shower head and another stuck to one of the ceiling fan's blades that never seemed to dislodge itself no matter how many times it spun. The other Horsemen didn't complain nor give any outward indication that they were aware of his pique, but there always seemed to be a fresh pack of cards ready whenever he was in need of some therapeutic card throwing. It was how he coped.

The thing Jack struggled to come to terms with was the suddenness of it all. Sure, he and Lula had never been particularly serious or official, but it had felt real to him. He had wanted it to be real. He had often thought about talking to Lula, asking to hold that elusive title of boyfriend, but it was never the right time. There were never many words said between them, not the ones that mattered anyway. And then she was gone. And then he was alone. Maybe it was always meant to be like that.

He found himself standing alone outside, his back up against the cold brick wall. A couple of weeks had passed since Lula left and he'd said he was fine, but the truth was he still hadn't come to terms with it all. How could he when he still didn't understand what they had been in the first place. A family, all of them, a strange, complicated family – he knew that much. It just made it hurt more.

Jack heard footsteps. He didn't even need to look to know who it was. There was silence for a moment, filled only by the familiar sound of his companion's breathing. Jack still hadn't met his eyes.

"Is it always going to be this way, Merritt?" he asked, struck by the familiarity of the scene. "Are they always going to leave?"

There was a moment where everything seemed to pause between them, a moment thick with anticipation. Then, in what simultaneously seemed like both a natural progression and the last thing Jack had ever expected, Merritt swiftly leant in and kissed him.

Soft. That was all Jack could think for a moment. Merritt's lips were unexpectedly soft, with only a hint of roughness where the winter wind had left its mark on Merritt's lower lip. His hand was tender but supportive against Jack's cheek, fingers grazing the younger man's cheekbone. A wave of comfort swept over Jack as he surrendered himself to the kiss.

Then, before Jack's mind could even catch up with what was happening, Merritt pulled away. For a moment there, everything had been right again.

It wasn't said out loud, Merritt wasn't one for words, but Jack felt it all the same:

Not everyone leaves.


	6. Hypnotherapy Part I

AN: This follows on from chapter 5. It is based on a prompt I got from Mint asking for a chapter where Merritt hypnotises Jack. It ended up a bit too long, so I have split it into 2 parts. This is the lead-up and then the hypnotism will be in part 2 which I will post tomorrow. Enjoy!

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The funny thing was that Jack didn't think about Lula much after that. Sure, she had crossed his mind in passing, just as the other Horsemen surely missed her bubbly presence, but he didn't feel the same sense of disappointment and finality in his stomach anymore. Jack found his thoughts occupied with a more pressing matter.

Merritt had kissed him. Merritt had just gone right ahead and kissed Jack. The strangest part of it all, for Jack, was that he had enjoyed it.

They hadn't spoken about the kiss. In fact, they hadn't been alone together since Merritt had left that night, telling Jack he would leave him alone with his thoughts.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. They had briefly been alone that time when they had passed each other in the hallway to and from the bathroom. Jack was on his way to brush his teeth. Merritt had been on his way back from the shower, dressed only in a towel, water still trailing down his bare skin. Thanks to the narrow hallway, which had never seemed as small as it had in that moment, they had had to pass chest to chest, mere millimetres between them, their breaths mixing. Jack had averted his eyes, noticing a second too late that they were trained on Merritt's abdomen, watching a drop of water roll down his skin and losing sight of it as it slipped beneath the folds of the towel away from sight. Realising what he was doing, Jack blinked and his head shot upwards, meeting Merritt's gaze. Almost immediately he tore his eyes away, noticing a smile on the older man's face.

"Night, Jack," he had said.

Then there was that time that Merritt had ducked his head inside Jack's room to ask if Jack wanted to join him and Danny for movie night. Jack had pretended to be asleep and spent the night with his perplexing thoughts, listening to the sounds of Merritt and Danny's laughter and bickering along with the faint noise of the TV. It was a cold and lonely night.

But _aside from_ _that_ , they hadn't been alone. Every time they were together, Danny seemed to be in between them. If not Danny, then it would just happen to be a day when Dylan was visiting. Jack wasn't sure if that was planned. He felt different, but he didn't know if everyone else felt it as well. Did Danny also feel the awkwardness whenever Jack was near Merritt? More importantly, did Merritt feel it too?

Jack wasn't sure what to do. A part of him wanted to avoid ever having to look at Merritt again, just to avoid the confusing tidal wave of feelings that seemed to accompany him now. But there was another part of him that knew he was only hurting himself by avoiding the oldest of the Horsemen. Then there was the part of him, right at the back of his mind, that seemed to whisper the word 'gay' followed by a multitude of question marks.

Did he regret it? If he could go back and stop Merritt from ever kissing him, would Jack do that? He couldn't find the will to conjure up a yes to either of those questions.

Jack's head was a mess of conflicting emotions, like a scribbled drawing done by a small child with a penchant for using every crayon in the box. There were so many questions swirling around his head. Question after question, just like the ones Danny was asking a string of, each one sounding like a droning noise that never seemed to end.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Jack yelled in response to a question of Danny's that he hadn't properly heard.

Danny and Merritt immediately turned to look at Jack, matching looks of shock upon their faces. They had never heard him speak with such anger and frustration before. Jack slid his head down into his hands, screwing up his eyes tight.

"Alright, fine. Be like that," Danny said abruptly as he left the room. Merritt sent a chastising look after him. His attitude wasn't helpful

Jack finally lifted his face from his hands, turning to look up at Merritt.

"I just don't know, Merritt," he admitted, his voice filled with desperation and a desire for answers.

Jack looked down at his feet and his voice became quiet, so quiet that Merritt almost didn't hear his next words.

"Help me."

Merritt's heart broke for the young man. He reached out and pulled Jack's head into his chest, holding him in an embrace. Jack breathed shaky, uneven breaths against the fabric of Merritt's shirt, feeling himself relax a little into the comforting warmth. His hand lay on Merritt's chest, listening to the thud of his heartbeat.

"I'm here, Jack," Merritt said softly, repeating the words to let them sink in. "I'm here."


	7. Hypnotherapy Part II

AN: As mentioned previously, this is part 2 of the last chapter I posted.

Let me preface this by saying that I know very little about hypnotism. My research consisted of watching Merritt hypnotise people, a book I recently read called The Hypnotist's Love Story and some light googling. Hopefully, I haven't completely butchered any sense of realism.

Don't forget to send me prompts!

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Merritt suggested that hypnotherapy could help Jack to unlock his subconscious thoughts and find some answers. Jack agreed, deciding that he couldn't go on like this and he had to figure out what was going on in his head. He was willing to try nearly anything.

After checking that Danny had left the flat, they relocated to the dining room – it was the least used room which was, as such, free of clutter. Jack sat a high backed dining chair that was more of a throne than a chair. They'd picked it up when one of their neighbours down the street was moving and had been about to throw out a perfectly useable, albeit it dated and well used, quartet of mismatched dining chairs. The Four Horsemen had each carried one home, claiming it as their chair. Merritt sat on his chair, a shorter and stockier one, straddling it and facing Jack.

Merritt was to do the hypnotism himself, given that he was the most talented hypnotist that Jack knew, but had offered to call in a couple of favours and get someone else to do it if Jack would feel more comfortable that way. Jack had decided to go with Merritt, feeling like if he was going to be vulnerable he would rather it was with one of the people closest to him. Still he remained a little anxious about the whole thing, worried that he might say something embarrassing. Merritt had assured him that people under hypnosis didn't go around blurting out things that they wouldn't otherwise have wanted to say and that he was not going to go probing around in Jack's mind for juicy secrets. Jack felt a little bit more confident about the whole thing after hearing that.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Merritt asked again solicitously.

Jack nodded.

"I trust you."

The hypnotism itself seemed to go fairly easily. Jack found himself easily relaxing to the sound of Merritt's soothing voice. Soon his head was falling onto Merritt's shoulder and he was under. Had he not been otherwise occupied, Merritt might have made a comment about the benefits of having a willing participant.

Then came the time for the therapeutic part of the hypnotism. It was a little strange for Merritt to hypnotise someone with the sole purpose of helping them. Normally he did this to entertain or for personal gain or even because The Eye required it, but this time he was doing it for Jack. That seemed like a much more important purpose.

"I want you to picture yourself on a beach. Can you see it," Merritt began, keeping his voice calm and steady.

Jack could see it all in his head. The soft, light coloured sand stretching out before him as far as he could see. He could practically feel the caress of the salty air on his skin. The waves lapped at the beach in a soft, rhythmical way that seemed to match Merritt's voice. He was there.

"Yes."

Merritt went on. "The sand stretches out in front and behind you. The water is beside you. It's calm and peaceful. You start to walk. As you walk, all the complications and questions fall behind you. There is nothing but the empty beach in front of you. You keep walking until you have left all your questions far behind you."

Merritt paused to let Jack catch up before he continued. As Jack walked, he pictured each question as a small package, wrapped up and dropped behind him. With each package he dropped, he felt a little lighter as if he was letting go of a physical weight. The packages faded into the distance as he walked until there was nothing behind him but the empty beach. He felt at ease for the first time in longer than he could recall.

"You stop," Merritt continued in the same relaxing tone. "There, in front of you, is a card. You pick it up. On that card is a question. This question is the single most important question to you right now. It is the only question that matters. Can you see the question?"

Jack remained silent for a moment, seeing this card before him in his mind. Then, just as Merritt said, there was writing on the card, appearing in an elegant, cursive script.

"Yes."

"You don't even need to think about this question. You already have the answer. You turn the card over. The answer is written on the back. Can you see it?"

Jack turned the card over in his mind, immediately seeing the answer that he already knew. _Yes_.

"Yes," he said, his voice already sounding lighter.

Merritt smiled to himself, pleased that he had been able to make a difference. He was only a stage hypnotist after all. This wasn't exactly his area of expertise.

"The next time you feel yourself overwhelmed and confused," Merritt continued to finish the job, "you are going to go back to this beach. You will leave all the confusion behind and find the answer to your single most important question."

Satisfied that he had done his job well, Merritt brought Jack back out of the hypnosis. He wasn't so bad at this hypnotherapy stuff. Maybe he should try and tackle Danny next, he briefly thought to himself before immediately dismissing the idea. He didn't need to open that can of worms.

Jack opened his eyes and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Everything was clearer in his mind. Although he hadn't dealt with all of his questions, he had found the answer to the one that mattered. The others could wait.

"So did you figure out what you needed to know?" Merritt asked despite already knowing the answer.

Without any hesitation, Jack leaned in, wound his hand around the back of Merritt's head and kissed him.

Merritt pulled away after a moment, chuckling at the younger man's sudden enthusiasm. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Jack grinned. "Yes."

"You're sure saying that a lot today," Merritt said with a glint in his eyes. His eyebrows darted upwards as he smirked. "Could I tempt you into saying it again?"

He leaned in again to capture Jack's lips, deepening the kiss this time. Jack responded enthusiastically, all traces of doubt gone from his mind. He wanted this, whatever this might be. He wanted Merritt to keep kissing him, needed it like air. As Merritt leaned forwards towards Jack, his chair balanced precariously on two legs. It was inevitable that it would come crashing down with a loud thump, disrupting the dance of their lips and sending Merritt sprawling forwards onto Jack's lap. Jack used his feet to steady them. So much so was their enthusiasm, that the interruption could barely be considered one. Like magnets, their lips met again and Jack used the advantage of their new position to pull Merritt closer. Merritt was just beginning to unbutton Jack's shirt when the front door banged open and Danny's voice cut through the apartment like a flood of iced water.

"Merritt, I'm back. You better have downloaded the blueprints for the stadium."

Merritt glanced at Jack for a moment to gauge if they should just say 'fuck it' and let Danny walk in on them, but the look on slight panic on Jack's face told Merritt he wasn't quite there yet. Merritt sighed and swung a leg over Jack's legs from where he had been straddling his lap, ruffling the younger man's hair to lighten the mood.

"Dammit, Atlas," Merritt growled as he left the room.


	8. Jack's Journey Home Part I

This is based off a prompt that a lot of you sent me. If it was your prompt and this wasn't quite what you asked for, don't worry, I will be writing more on these prompts later on.

Now for some housekeeping:

a) This chapter is part 1/4

b) This is not a direct continuation on from the last chapter. It probably fits best as an AU, but could be seen as being in the future and Henley has returned.

c) There are hints to some JackDaniels. When I wrote it, I imagined the four of them were in a relationship. However, the JackDaniels is minimal and if it's not your thing and you're here strictly for Jackitt, then it can certainly be interpreted that way too. Basically, choose your own canon here.

* * *

Jack walked back towards the apartment, pulling his leather jacket tighter around his neck as he shivered in the cold night air. He held a plastic grocery bag in his hand, filled with the contents of his shopping list. He had batteries for Daniel, an assortment of groceries that Henley had said they needed and a Snickers for Merritt.

As he walked, he felt the sensation that there was someone behind him. He picked up his pace, knowing from experience that it was better to be safe than sorry in these situations. It was hard to resist the urge the turn around and look, but that was one sure way to let anyone following know that he knew what was going on and then the chase would begin.

But no, there was definitely someone behind him. Two sets of footsteps if he wasn't mistaken.

He looked ahead and saw that there was a blacked out streetlight on the corner up ahead and a van parked next to it. Jack's eyes darted around, looking for somewhere else to go. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. But if he tried to cross the road, whoever was following would surely use the opportunity to make their move. He would just have to keep going and hope he would be quick enough to outrun them.

Jack approached the corner, trying not to appear hesitant. His heart thudded as he turned onto his street. The anticipation was the worst part of it all. Only a few more blocks and he would be home, safe. Not far now, he told himself.

As Jack turned towards home, an arm came out to smack him in the face. He stumbled backwards into the two men following him, struggling against them as the grabbed him. The man from around the corner delivered a swift punch to the gut and Jack doubled over in pain. His bag of groceries fell to the ground in a rustle of plastic.

He received a fist is the eye and ouch, that was going to leave a mark. But he wasn't going to give up just like that. Jack fought back, arms swinging as he tried to hold off the trio of attackers. He turned sharply, left then right; no matter what he did there always seemed to be one of his assailants out of his line of sight.

His fist connected with the tallest man's face and Jack used his brief moment of reprieve to turn his attention and physical aggression to the next man. A knee in the stomach. A punch to the side of the face.

Just as Jack thought he might be able to make a run for it, a hessian bag was forced over his head, obscuring his vision and leaving him to struggle against it blindly. The bag was pulled back against his throat, roughly. Jack struggled against it, choking. Then there were three pairs of hands on him again and he knew it was game over.

The men dragged Jack backwards towards the waiting van. He shouted and struggled all the way, but there was no one around to hear.

He was tossed in the van rather unceremoniously and he felt plastic against his thigh as the bag of groceries was tossed in after him. It was a small consolation. Face down and unable to see as the van drove off, Jack knew he was in serious trouble. This was no common mugging. His wrists were roughly pulled behind him and secured with a cable tie. Shit. He was in trouble.

As the van sped down the streets, away from home, away from the Horsemen and away from safety, Jack tried to figure out how he was going to get out of this mess. Bound and blind, he didn't like his chances. His only form of relief came when the bag was pulled off his head. Jack spat out blood, groaning as he tried for sit up so he could see his attackers.

Someone tutted and Jack felt a hand caress his swollen eye which was most likely turning black and blue by this point. The touch was familiar, like he'd felt those fingers before, but there was something off about it. It turned his stomach. Then the owner of the hand spoke and Jack knew at once who he was.

"Oh dear, dear. My brother won't like this. He does love a pretty face and now my boys have gone and spoiled it. Oops!"

"Chase," Jack growled with more disdain than he would have been able to muster up for your average common or garden kidnapper.

Jack managed to struggle up into a sitting position, turning to face Chase and the three thugs who had attacked him.

"Oops, guilty as charged," Chase replied with a laugh. "Sorry, wrong McKinney brother I'm afraid."

Jack remained silent, face steely, determined not to rise to Chase's taunts.

"Although that's just a matter of opinion," Chase went on. He'd barely spoken a dozen or so words and Jack was already wishing he could wipe that annoying voice from his head. It seemed to stay with him, taunting Jack even in silence. It was a sharp contrast to Merritt's homely tone. If the physical similarities between them weren't so strikingly similar, Jack would've had a hard time believing they were related.

"I mean, most people would agree that I am the superior brother in every way," continued Chase. He seemed to enjoy the sound of his own voice even if no one else did. "I guess there's no accounting for taste."

Jack tried to keep his face blank, not wanting to give Chase the satisfaction of getting anything out of him. Chase took his resilience as confusion.

"Oh, you are sleeping with my brother, are you not?" Chase asked with a taunting smile like he already knew the answer. "Because this whole thing would be a little awkward if you weren't."

He laughed. Jack couldn't stop a shiver at how eerie it was. His laugh sounded just like Merritt's, but there was something unnerving and cruel about it.

"And if you ever feel like upgrading, my brother isn't the only McKinney brother who likes the pretty boys," Chase said, leaning towards Jack and puckering his lips then laughing at Jack's look of revolt. "The offer's on the table, just saying."

"Yeah, well, no thanks," Jack spat back.

This just caused Chase to laugh again. Taunting Jack was so much more fun when he reacted.

"I have to say," Chase continued, "I did think you'd go for the other young pretty one, the one with control issues."

Jack refused to take the bait, avoiding Chase's gaze in case his face betrayed anything. Perhaps it was that action itself that gave it away or perhaps there was a flicker of something on his face.

Chase's mouth spread into a wide grin. "Oh ho! Does my brother know this? I mean I know he 'claims' to be able to read people, but he has always had a tendency to miss what's going on right under his nose. Trust me, I know."

Jack just scowled at Chase, wishing he would just stop this taunting and get to why he was there. Chase looked like all his Christmases had come at once, finding immense joy in his perceived revelation.

"That would just break his little heart," Chase said with glee. "Oh to be a fly on the wall when he finds out."

Jack thought that a fly was a pretty apt description of Chase – annoying, buzzing, never seemed to leave him alone.

"Alright, change of plans," Chase announced, clapping his hands together. "When we bring my brother in, we're bringing the control freak in too."

The henchmen in the van nodded in affirmation.

"What are you going to do with him?" Jack asked, putting as much venom into his words as he could.

"Who?" Chase taunted. "Your boyfriend or your sugar daddy? I hate to say it, but I think all that sugar's run out."

They were interrupted by the van coming to a sudden stop. Jack's body was flung forwards then backwards in quick succession, causing him to let out a small "oof". The others, who had the luxury of not having their hands bound, held onto the nearest fixed object to steady themselves. From the grin on Chase's face you'd think he was riding a rollercoaster at a theme park. It was like there was a barely contained "wheeeeeee!" on his lips. He enjoyed strange things.

The henchmen pulled Jack out of the van, taking very little care with him. Meanwhile, Chase emerged on his own, brushing imaginary dirt from his suit and smiling in satisfaction at a job well done. Phase one complete.


End file.
